Tales of a Lost Soul
by FeudalGirl14
Summary: Kagome, a young 21 yr old girl establishing her adult life. Trying to find herself as she grows into a young woman, Kagome loses herself as she jumps from drama to drama. Between being the other woman, being a sugar baby, and losing almost all her friends in a tornado of gossip, Kagome just doesn't know who she is anymore. This is a story of self exploration with a lot of suspense
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Being a young adult can be really tough. It's the stage in your life when you're trying to finish school and/or establish your career, you're trying to understand who you are as a person, and you are trying to figure out how to be happy in life. While this is certainly not the case for every young adult out there, this was the case for Kagome.

Kagome is your average middle class girl. She grew up in a nuclear family up until her mid teen years where her parents went through a divorce. A few years after her parents initially divorced, her parents were able to find common ground amongst each other and now maintain a pretty good friendship.

At the end of high school, Kagome was in a serious relationship with a man about five years older than her. Her family was not really supportive of the relationship because of the age difference, but she seemed to be happy so they decided to let her figure her own fate out. When Kagome moved to Tokyo from her small home town of Kamakura, she moved in with her boyfriend of the time. From there, the relationship took a pretty big downfall. Her boyfriend had become very emotionally abusive and was sexually abusive as well. Mid way through Kagome's first year of University, the two of them broke up. Kagome had to move back in with her father for a few months and she had commuted back and forth from Kamakura to Tokyo to continue her schooling. Despite her best efforts, Kiara's GPA took a very big hit due to the emotional trauma her ex had put her through.

Kagome had still passed all of her classes, but barely, and was put on academic probation. She then moved back to Tokyo where she could be closer to school and find a new job. From that point on, Kagome had lived a pretty basic life, keeping on the down-low and focusing on her studies, bringing her grades back up. She had eventually bought herself a Honda Civic which had some modifications on it from when the last owner had it. Kagome had always been interested in cars, but never overly invested in them. But once she bought her civic, her world opened to cars. Cars became a big part of her life. She started to attend car meets and entered car shows. She did more modifications to her car and made new friends through her car including her best friend Sango who also had a civic.

Fast forward to today. Kagome, now 21 years old, has just finished her third year of University, with one more year left to do. During her third year she got a job at Buff It Collision Centre as a part time secretary. She loved her job here. While she was not allowed to drive any of the cars that came in since that was not part of her job description, she was able to see quite the variety of them and learn more about cars and body repair. Being in the body repair industry was not quite her career goal, but she certainly took interest in learning about it. The work environment was great as well, she loved her coworkers and it was just such a positive environment. Despite her being in a good place at work and at school as well, Kagome was not completely happy. The next year of her life presented quite a few ups and downs.

-x-

 **Authors Note:** Wow. Hi everyone! It's been a VERY long time! I hope I haven't lost too many followers during my very long break. I kind of disappeared for a long time towards the end of high school. I started this account at the beginning of 9th grade. Now I'm finished University! Crazy!

I just want to start by saying I'm SO sorry to my readers who were waiting for my stories to be updated. I left a few unfinished and I feel so bad about that. School tho just got so hectic, I couldn't keep up with stories with all the assignments that had to get done.

But, now I'm DONE school. Permanently! And I have decided to start writing again :)

This story is _**lightly**_ based on true events. I hope that this makes up for my disappearance. Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 1 - Work Drama

**Chapter 1 – Work Drama**

"Look at you working real hard." I heard as the door to my office swung open and slam shut. I didn't have to look up to know it was Kouga, one of the body men here. I couldn't help but smirk when I looked up at him and rolled my eyes.

"Bitch, I've been working my ass off all day sitting here making phone calls." I replied implying that I work harder than Kouga, even though that is far from the truth. I've always had a little crush on Kouga ever since I first met him when I started here at Buff It a year ago. He unfortunately has a girlfriend so I never pursued any kind of relationship with him, but that never stopped me from talking to him. We can still be friends, right?

Kouga gave me a smug look as he sat on the chair situated in front of my desk for my customers. He propped his feet up on my desk even though he knows that drives me mental. I don't like dirt on my desk. He doesn't really give two shits, though.

"Got my cookies?" he asked as he picked at the dirt embedded between his finger nails from working on cars all day. I pulled out a container filled with double chocolate chip cookies I promised I'd bake for him. He went to grab the entire container but I pulled them back from him. "These aren't all for you, loser."

I opened the container and handed him a couple cookies so he wouldn't get his grubby hands all over the other ones. He let out that 'sigh' I love as he ate one of the cookies. Kouga is usually pretty stressed; I'm pretty sure from his relationship. So it feels nice to see him relax when he comes to talk to me. He comes to visit me at least once a day now. At first it was only once in a while but as of lately he's been coming on his 15 minute breaks, if I had no customers that is. If that was the case he'd wait until they were gone and come back. I'm not going to lie, I kind of like it. It makes me feel kind of wanted.

We chatted for most of his break; He wanted to spend the last couple minutes of his break having a smoke. He ate a total of five cookies and of course requested to save him a couple more for when he got off work; I stashed three more in my drawer so they wouldn't be eaten. He also gave me a compliment on my shirt as he left, probably because it's low cut. I don't really mind, though. I might have worn it knowing he'd take notice.

I know I should feel bad for flirting with him and enjoying his attention, but for some reason I just don't. I've always been the kind of girl to stay away from guys who were in a relationship, but something about Kouga just made me not really give a shit. It might have to do with the fact that I secretly know he isn't happy with his current relationship. Or maybe it's because I've been single for almost three years? Who knows…

I've been cheated on before. My first serious boyfriend cheated on me pretty early on in the relationship. It destroyed me, but I stayed with him. And that destroyed me even further. I vowed to never sleep with a man that was in a relationship after that. I never would have anyways, but that just made me understand just how painful it is and I don't want to be responsible for causing that kind of pain to another woman. So, I'm kind of disappointed Kouga is in a relationship. I'd fuck him in a heartbeat. He seems like the perfect friends with benefits partner, not someone I'd like to date though. He seems like the kind of guy who doesn't treat his relationships too well.

The day is pretty busy today. It is late April, just the beginning of spring. With all the nice weather appearing more regularly, people have been becoming a little more daring with their driving again, which means more accidents. There never really is a quiet time of the year, because Tokyo drivers are absolutely awful, but winter is certainly our busiest time of the year.

I currently have an impatient woman waiting at my desk to sign some forms we need in order to work on her car. She was side swiped by someone who didn't shoulder check before he changed lanes. Once I got her to sign some papers, she went outside to have a cigarette as the car rental company was taking a little while to get here to pick her up. It is the beginning of rush hour so it usually takes them an extra ten to fifteen minutes to get here compared to the middle of the day.

I was about to make a phone call to a customer who's car is now ready for pick up when my door opened again. I looked up to see Inuyasha, a customer service rep from Rent-It Car Rentals, sit down stressed out.

"You alright?" I asked as he took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Inuyasha and I have become pretty good friends over the past few months of me working here. He does a lot of pick-ups here so we chat a lot.

"All I have for this woman is an Elantra." He replied. Inuyasha didn't have to explain any further for me to understand his frustration. This woman owns Toyota Camry and a Hyundai Elantra is a pretty big downgrade, size wise and quality wise. Honestly, I think Hyundais are pieces of junk.

Inuyasha spoke to the woman when he got here, but she wanted to ask the body man about the repairs, how long it would take, etc… Even though I went over it with her already. I don't mind, though, cause now I get to talk to Inuyasha while she keeps herself busy.

Inuyasha is a pretty socially awkward guy. He's also that typical guy who has multiple health conditions and has more than one allergy. He is kind of a dork as well, but I think it's so cute. Inuyasha is a universe apart from Kouga, but I've also had a little crush on Inuyasha for a while. But it's a different kind of crush. Kouga is more of a lusting thing while Inuyasha is someone I'd potentially date.

Since Inuyasha is socially awkward and because I'm shy as fuck neither of us have made a move to ask each other out. I'm pretty sure Inuyasha has a crush on me, though. He's made it pretty obvious. It's either that or I am reading way too much into things.

I inwardly sighed when the woman walked in and said she was ready to get her rental. Inuyasha said his goodbye and I returned the farewell. That was quite the short lived conversation. I grabbed my phone out of the desk drawer and opened my contacts list, debating about texting him. I sighed and put my phone away, unable to gain the courage.

The day came and went in a breeze. The day usually goes by pretty quick with all the phone calls and customers I have to take care of. There are days where I actually get behind in calls and have to concentrate solely on ordering parts or calling customers who's cars are ready. Those who are calling to ask questions or for other reasons will have to unfortunately wait until the next day or two. We really need to get a third receptionist here. Kagura is the other receptionist, and she is full time unlike myself. Although between the two of us, we still can't keep up on calls sometimes. We spend more time on the phone than anything else.

Speaking of Kagura, I've noticed lately that she's been disappearing from work a little earlier than she used to. I know she's been having some pretty serious issues with her fiancé back at home but I doubt she's skipping out from work 15 minutes before she should be for that reason. Either way, not my business and I don't really care. If she gets in trouble for it that's her problem and not mine.

I started to pack to leave as the shop is now closed and my shift was over about 15 minutes ago. I then remembered that I had some cookies for Kouga still to give him. I guess he forgot that I saved them for him. I walked outside and saw his truck was still here so I made my way towards his bay. Suddenly, the door to his bay opened and Kagura walked out fixing her hair. I stopped in my tracks and looked at her and she nearly turned white when she saw me.

"Oh my god." She said nearly breaking out in tears. I hope to god what I think happened didn't actually happen. "It's not what it looks like!" she said and rushed in her car and took off. Yea, they just fucked in his bay. I guess they thought no one else was here still.

But, like. Wow. I did not expect to see that. After trying to process what had just seen, I turned around and walked back to my car. I don't really want to go see Kouga right now. I'll just tell him I forgot to give them to him if he comes to bug me Monday.

I knew Kouga was kind of an asshole, but I didn't take him as a cheater. At the same time though, it doesn't really surprise me. He never talks about his girlfriend. I only know about her because she comes to bring him his lunch once in a blue moon when he forgets it. He never really does seem happy to see her, though.

I think I'm more shocked about Kagura, though. While I knew her and her fiancé are having some serious issues back at home with their relationship I would have never expected her to resort to cheating. She's always been such a sweetheart to me. We get along so well and she always goes the extra mile to help her coworkers out and to make our customers happy.

Thankfully it's Friday and I don't have to see either of them for a couple days. Time to go home…


	3. Chapter 2 - Boys Boys Boys

**Chapter 2 – Boys Boys Boys**

I had just finished my exams a little over a week ago. I'm taking two classes this summer so I can get myself ahead of the game and graduate a semester early. These classes are online though so I don't have to dedicate my time to being in class. This way, my boss can give me extra hours where he can. I've got about another week until these classes start so I'm enjoying every minute I have off this week.

Tonight I'm meeting up with Sango for sushi. Sushi is something we like to have every two weeks when we get paid. We'd probably go more if it wasn't so expensive. I am definitely going to tell her what I saw yesterday at work with Kagura and Kouga.

"So, I have a problem." Sango said to me as we sat down. I rolled my eyes knowing what she was going to say, and she gave me a look for the eye roll. "I'm serious this time. I think I'm pregnant."

I sighed. "Did you take a test?" I asked. This is a common occurrence.

"Not yet." She admitted. "But my period is late and last month's was super light."

I didn't quite take Sango's word for it. Sango is a little bit older than me, she's 28. Sango was one of those girls who was very regular most of her life, but as of lately she's been all over the place and every month she thinks she's pregnant until I make her take a test. I keep trying to tell her it's because she stressed, because she's REALLY stressed, but she's so scared about having a baby that her mind keeps jumping to that.

Sango is dating a guy named Miroku. He's a year younger than her and they make an amazing couple. The only problem about their relationship, though, is that Miroku really wants kids while Sango doesn't. This has created some issues in their relationship, and as much as I think Miroku and Sango are the perfect match for each other I can't believe they are still together because of that. Disagreeing on children isn't the same as disagreeing on what colour to paint the kitchen. It's a huge thing to compromise on. I just hope they don't end up resenting each other because of it.

I spent some time trying to convince Sango that she isn't pregnant. She's still going to get a pregnancy test after we have dinner though. Now that we got that out of the way, she remembered about the gossip I had to tell her

I texted her I had some major work gossip when I got home. Sango and I are guilty for purging on gossip on occasion, but we always keep it amongst ourselves. We never go around telling others what we know.

I explained to her that I caught Kagura leaving Kouga's bay after work and that it was so obvious they banged. Sango laughed and thought it was hilarious. She's met Kouga a couple times when she's stopped by at my work and she never liked his attitude. She also had no idea why I thought he was so hot.

"With how much he flirts with you you do realize that he's probably going to target you when he gets bored with Kagura, right?" Sango pointed out to me.

"I doubt that." I said as I poked around at my sashimi. "If he does though, I'll shut him down. I'm not interested in sleeping with someone who has a girlfriend."

Sango laughed. "But you love the attention you get from him."

I sighed. I know she's right. "I'm not sleeping with him though so it's not so bad." I made the excuse. Sango just shook her head at me.

I know I shouldn't flirt with him, but I just can't help it. He's just so sexy.

"What about this Inuyasha kid you keep saying you're going to ask out for coffee but never do?" she inquired.

Ugh, I hate it when Sango brings Inuyasha up. It makes me feel pathetic. I told Sango about him a couple months ago saying that I wanted to try to ask him for coffee but I've never had the balls to do it.

"He came to talk to me for a little bit today." I said feeling slightly proud I had a conversation with him.

Sango sighed. "You're never going to date him if you can't grow some balls and say something."

I made the excuse that if we didn't have to see each other at work that I would have asked a long time ago even though I probably wouldn't anyways. But the idea of him rejecting me and then having to deal with him at work isn't exactly a pleasant thought so the fact of that really does not help.

Sango keeps telling me that she grew some balls and asked Miroku out when they were just acquaintances and now they're a happy couple that has been together for two years now.

I wish it was that simple, I really do. But it just isn't for me. I'm not quite as confident as I was before I met my first serious boyfriend. He broke down all my self-confidence when we were together, basically to trap me with him. I let it work for a lot longer than I should have.

I don't talk about my ex very often. Sango knows very little about him. Talking about him reminds me too much of what he did to me and it's just not something I like to think about. He's done some pretty horrible things to me that no one knows about.

I've been single for a long time because of him, I believe anyways. The first year I just chose to stay away from guys. I needed to take time to heal from the relationship and I did. I now feel like I am ready for a new relationship, but as soon as a guy shows any kind of interest in me there's some kind of switch in my brain that tells me to run. It's like I'm scared to be in a committed relationship again.

I eventually changed the subject with Sango. I'm honestly starting to feel like a high school girl with all this boy talk we're doing. I also hate being reminded of how single I am.

After dinner I went home, not in a very good mood anymore. Between talking about Inuyasha and what happened at work today, I got really bummed out.

I'm not going to lie, but I'm feeling pretty jealous of Kagura. I've never seen them talk much other than the normal work business. Is it bad to think that _I_ was special? I feel pretty disappointed in Kouga to be honest.

I think the worst part is that knowing he's sleeping around with Kagura is making me want him even more.


	4. Chapter 3 - Feelings

**Chapter 3 - Feelings**

It's Monday. I've been dreading Monday. I don't want to see either Kouga or Kagura. I'm still disturbed by what I saw on Friday. The idea of cheating on someone, I really can't wrap my head around it. And here they both are, sleeping with each other. And at work because they can't go to each other's homes.

I think what bugs me the most is that Kagura always says how much she loves her fiancée. But, here she is sleeping with another man. At work.

I sighed, feeling sick to my stomach as I parked my car at work. I looked at the cookies that I had saved for Kouga. Should I act like I forgot? Nah, he saw me put them away for him. I don't want to talk to him though. Maybe I'll just try my best to look super busy so he doesn't bug me. That will only work for so long, though.

I made a b-line for my desk and got right to work. I started making calls to customers who had left voice mails over the weekend to keep myself busy. I mostly kept my head down, never really looked up when people walked by unless I was spoken to.

Only one very slow hour went by before my boss came to see me.

"Have you heard from Kagura today?" he asked me knowing Kagura and I spoke quite often. I shook my head and left it at that. I do not want to be involved with what might unfold in the near future.

He forward his brows in annoyance. Not at me but at the fact that Kagura is late and she hasn't bothered to call and let us know what was up. Had I not been here the place would be a mess.

No more than fifteen minutes later Kagura finally walked in. She looked like a complete mess. Kagura refused to make eye contact with me, too. Of course the second she walked in our boss called her into his office to discuss her unreported absence.

Ten minutes later she walked out looking absolutely miserable. She went straight to her desk without saying anything to anyone. I just kept to myself, I still don't want to talk to her.

I don't know why I'm so mad at her. What they are doing has nothing to do with me. I guess I'm just really disappointed in her. I expected more from Kagura I guess.

Lunch eventually came and went and I still haven't heard from Kouga. Did Kagura tell him I saw what happened? I sure as hell hope not, I do not want to be involved with this.

When lunch came, Kagura disappeared pretty quick. I guess she can't stand to be at work right now near me. She's probably mortified at the whole ordeal from Friday.

I was just sitting at my desk finishing the salad I had packed for lunch and browsing through my phone when Kagura actually came and sat down on my customer chair.

"I want to talk to you." She said, barely able to make eye contact with me.

I sighed. I don't want to talk to her. "What's up?"

"I know you're probably upset about what you saw the other day." She admitted to me. That's an understatement. "I just want to explain myself."

I raised an eyebrow to her. What is there to explain? She cheated on her fiancée with someone who has a girlfriend.

"What I did is really shitty, I know." She admitted. "And there are no excuses."

I sighed. "Kagura, you don't need to explain yourself. It's none of my business and I'll keep my mouth shut." I said to her.

"That's not what I want from you." She said. "Well, I appreciate that you won't say anything. But we're friends and I know you're disappointed in me and I just don't want you to hate me because of this because I know how you feel about it."

Of course she's avoiding the word 'cheating'.

Our boss walked in and told Kagura to get back to work. I guess she lost her lunch since she came in so late. Kagura sighed and did a texting motion signaling she would text me later.

We decided that we would meet up for coffee tomorrow evening so we could talk without being interrupted with work related things. I'm really not looking forward to it, but we are friends so I'll give her the chance and see what she has to say.

I did ask if she said anything to Kouga and she hasn't. They haven't even talked since Friday. I guess they can't text each other while they're home. Go figure.

Almost the whole day went by and Kouga never popped in. Of course the stars just don't want to align today. Half an hour before the end of the day, Kouga came in demanding for the cookies I had saved for him.

I tried to keep my cool. I tried to act like I know nothing. But I'm a terrible actor and Kouga asked what was wrong with me. I just said that I had just gotten my syllabuses for my summer classes and they stressed me out to the max. That's the furthest from the truth, though. Summer classes are pieces of cake.

Our conversation was very strained. There wasn't much to it. Thankfully he was stuffing his face with the cookies most of the time anyways.

He said I looked pretty stressed out and that he'd talk to me later. Thank god. That ten minutes felt like eternity. Thankfully he fell for my bullshit excuse though and didn't catch on to the fact I knew something I probably shouldn't.

-x-

It's Tuesday evening and I'm waiting at a little coffee shop for Kagura. It's a quiet family owned one that not many people go to. The atmosphere is calm and it's honestly the only coffee shop I like.

Kagura finally arrived about twenty minutes late. I'm already frustrated. I've had almost my whole coffee already because I was bored waiting for her.

She walked in the shop looking very stressed and upset. "I'm sorry. Hiten doesn't believe that I'm having coffee with you." Gee, I wonder why.

"That sucks." I said, dryly.

"I know what I did was really, really wrong. But the past few months, Hiten has been treating me pretty poorly." She began.

Kagura vented for nearly an hour. Hiten has cheated on her with multiple girls over the course of the year. He's become very controlling and emotionally abusive. Normally I'd be taking everything she's saying by a grain of salt, but what she's saying sounds exactly like the situation I was in a few years ago.

I guess Kouga has been making her feel better and she's been falling for it. Based on what she's saying, it's so obvious that he's only using Kagura for a good fuck. She told me a little bit of Kouga's situation with his girlfriend Ayame. They've been together for five years and they met the exact same way he met Kagura, at work and behind his then girlfriend's back.

So it looks like Kouga is a chronic cheater. Apparently he only started dating Ayame because his ex caught him cheating and Ayame was just there at the time. As if she thought he'd stay faithful to her.

Throughout our visit, my anger for Kagura started to fade away. I know how she feels right now. While I made a different decision then she did, I understand how trapped and lonely she feels.

From the sounds of it, she has no friends. Her family lives two hours away so it's not like she can just pack up and go home to her parents. Hiten is literally the only person in her life that she can 'depend' on. It's really sad, really.

Unfortunately because of this loneliness, Kouga is making her feel wanted. Because Kagura is feeling wanted by Kouga, she's letting him use her. I don't know whether or not Kouga knows the extent of how bad things are between Kagura and Hiten but he is definitely using her vulnerability to his advantage. It's making me sick someone would do that to a person.

I honestly do feel like I am in high school, though.

Our visit together ended up being a lot shorter than I had expected, though. Hiten started to blow up Kagura's phone demanding that she returned home.

I feel bad for her now. She's in a bad situation. I really do hope that Hiten isn't physical with her. I have yet to see bruises on her body, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Clothes can easily hide them.

I told Kagura that if she needed to talk to someone or any kind of help to text or call me. I feel for her now.

Kouga, on the other hand, I could give no shits about. Honestly, if I didn't feel so bad for Kagura now I'd want him fired. Like, who the hell does that to a girl?! Not to mention sleep with her at work. They are so lucky it was me that caught them and not our boss. They would have been canned on the spot.

-x-

I had waited all night last night to hear from Kagura hoping that she was okay, but no text came from her. It's a new day at work and Kagura thankfully showed up right on time today. She looks awful though.

I have a feeling that meeting up with her last night might have been a bad idea. They probably got into a huge fight over it. I gave her a look saying 'I hope you're okay' and she forced a smile back. At least now she knows that she has someone that will be there for her when she does need help.


	5. Chapter 4 - An Admirer

**Chapter 4 – An Admirer**

It's just another day at work. I have now started my summer classes and I am already overwhelmed by the school work. I'm sure that it's not nearly as bad as it seems on the syllabus, but it seems like a lot of work. It's going to all be worth it though, in the end. I hope so anyways.

Kouga and I haven't really spoken much lately. It's mostly because he's been swamped with work and hasn't been taking his breaks but even when he does he hasn't come up to talk to me. Kagura swears she hasn't told him what I know, and I hope she isn't lying to me. I doubt she is, though.

Kagura hasn't been doing the greatest. Every day I can just see it in her eyes that she does not want to go home. It's heart breaking, really.

We've spoken in passing and she said she hasn't been speaking to Kouga as much lately. Since we've had coffee together she's been feeling really guilty about cheating on Hiten. I said to her that no matter how shitty it is back home, cheating won't fix things. Ever. I think she's realized that even though Hiten sucks, she's not making herself to be the good guy either.

I advised her to never breath a word to Hiten about it, though, no matter how bad she feels. While it would be morally right to admit the truth to him, I don't think it's the safe move to make. He's controlling and jealous enough as it is, it wouldn't be a good idea to make it any worse. No matter what happens to her though, my doors will be open if she needs help. I hope she seeks this help sooner rather than later.

I was minding my own business faxing invoices out when I noticed a truck pulling a flatbed trailer with a beautiful (but in awful condition) 1970 Dodge Charger R/T on it. I swooned. It's one of my favourite classic cars.

A gentleman named Naraku had visited us a couple times asking about restoring the cars body. I've spoken to him myself on one occasion as he wanted to know about making payments and what kind of availability we had. He ended up having to pay in full before work began on it and he made the appointment way in advance. I had to explain to him as well since we are a body shop specific to insurance repairs that his car would not be prioritized and would be worked on little by little. This he was surprisingly very okay with.

Naraku is an odd gentleman. He is a little bit older but he does not look like it. I'd say he looks to be in his mid 40's but I had to take some of his information when I made the appointment and he's actually in his mid 50's. He's doing pretty well for himself in the looks department. He has long sleeked back black hair, normally worn in a ponytail. He also has a mischievous look to him. He's kind of socially awkward, though. He had a hard time holding eye contact with me when we last spoke and he was having a very hard time trying to come up with small talk. He seemed pretty nice though otherwise.

When we talked about payments I hadn't asked him what kind of car it was. I was just given a quote from the estimator and went from there. I had no idea it was a Charger. Naturally I had to go outside and take a closer look at it.

When I got outside, Naraku was speaking with Kai, our estimator, and Kouga. Of course… I took a deep breath and approached anyways. I had to look at this gem myself.

"Hello, Kagome." Naraku said when I approached the three. Oh, he remembered my name.

"Hello," I said and shook his hand. "Naraku, right?" he nodded his head and gave me a smile.

The body isn't in horrible condition. It'll take a few months to finish though with all the other jobs that'll need to be worked around it though. It looks like a few panels will need to be replaced with how much it's rusted. It sucks cause it would be nice if we could keep all the original panels. That's hard to do though when it comes to a car this old.

Apparently Naraku had salvaged it from a hoarder. He doesn't know the story behind the car and why it was just left in a yard over the years. All he knows is that he was browsing the internet looking for an old car he could restore and came across the ad for this Charger. Someone had bought property off an old man who was a hoarder. The man had a serious problem and wouldn't get rid of any of his junk. The old man eventually passed away and his children cleaned up the property as well as they could. This Charger was something they didn't get around to getting rid of, thank god. The new owner of the property knew it was a gem (while the old man's children had no idea). He wasn't interested in restoring it though so he made an ad in hopes of finding the right buyer.

Naraku now has an engine ordered for it and wants the body restored before he starts to tinker with that. He is mechanically inclined but does not know very much about body work, which is why he brought it to us.

After some conversation, we walked inside so Naraku could make the final payment on this job.

"You seemed pretty excited when you came outside." Naraku said to me as I was setting up payment with him.

"Yea, I love the old Charger." I replied. I received a smirk in response. "What colour are you getting it painted?"

"Crazy plum." He replied proudly. I was happy to hear that response. It's one of Dodge's classic, and rare, colours.

After he made the final payment I had to get him to sign a contract stating that we were not promising a 'due date' for the completion of this project and that insurance repairs would be prioritised.

"How long do you think it will take?" he asked me. I hate it when people ask me these questions. I'm not a body repair person nor am I an estimator. Kai and Kouga and the other body men see things on these cars that I don't, as I am not trained to, so I basically just throw a time frame at them based on how long I've seen other cars take to be repaired.

"Um, I'm going to assume a few months since they will be working on it around other cars." I replied, not wanting to give an exact number so I wouldn't get his hopes up.

"Alright," he said. "I'd prefer it to be ready by the end of the summer if possible, but if not it's alright. You guys are doing me a pretty big favour."

Damn right we're doing you a big favour.

"Do you work a lot, Kagome?" he asked. I guess I gave him a weird look as he continued. "I've just been here a few times to ask about the project and you weren't here every time."

I sighed. I hate it when customers ask these personal questions. "I'm just part time as I'm in school. I'll be working full time during the summer though." I replied.

I was hoping he was going to leave it at that, but he didn't. He continued to ask me about my education and where I was planning on going from there. I admit, this conversation is a little awkward to say the least. Thankfully it didn't take long to get all the paperwork finished.

"Well, if you're still around when the Charger is finished I'll take you for a ride if you want." He said as he stood up to leave. "You seem to really like the car."

"Oh," I admit it, I blushed. "That would be cool." I have no idea how to respond other than that.

Naraku said goodbye and left the office. It was dead silent in the office. A very tense, dead silent. As soon as Naraku left Kagura bursted out laughing.

"Honey, you have yourself a new admirer." She said almost in tears. "That was the most awkward conversation I have ever heard."

"Oh my god." I replied as I covered my face with my hands. "That was the worst."

"Aw come on, it wasn't that bad!" she laughed. "He's clearly packing a lot of money. Make him your new sugar daddy!" Kagura continued laughing in hysteria.

Of course Kai had to walk in right when she said that. "Please don't sleep with our customers Kagome." Kai joined in on the joke, partially aware of the conversation we had.

I'm dying of embarrassment right now.


	6. Chapter 5 - An Unexpected Message

**Chapter 5 – An Unexpected Message**

After work Sango and I decided to go for a walk on the board walk around a lake located in the middle of the city. This is a usual routine of ours once the weather gets nice. The nature that surrounds this board walk is very refreshing considering it is in the heart of our little city.

"Soooo…." I chimed as we began our walk and gave a knowing look to Sango. She knew exactly what I was about to ask and she looked away in shame.

Instead of letting me ask the question, she just answered. "No, I'm not pregnant."

I sighed. "You're way too paranoid. You need to relax a little bit."

"I know I know. Miroku just wants kids so bad, and I don't. It's hard, you know?"

I sympathize with Sango. I as well have no desire for children and that's such a hard thing to be compatible with with other people. I honestly fear that they will not last as a couple because of this.

I put my arm around Sango's shoulder for comfort as we walked. It is a beautiful night; the sun is setting and the sunset is absolutely beautiful. I'm such a sucker for sunsets; I take a photo of them nearly every night.

To get Sango's mind off of her stress about babies, I told her about my little encounter with Naraku today. She laughed so hard, she thought it was hilarious. She also hopped on the sugar daddy joke, especially because I am a broke and starving student. She thought it was pretty ironic that he got very interested after I told him I was a student. Unfortunately I'm not into having sex for favours nor am I into banging old men.

The boardwalk isn't very long so our walk together was brief. We were both pretty tired from our busy days at work so we both went straight home. When I got into my car I decided to check my Facebook messages as I'm trying to sell my springs off my car in a Buy Trade Sell group. I noticed I had a message in my inbox so I was pretty excited to see some interest in my item for sale.

I opened the folder to see that it in fact was not someone looking to buy my old springs.

It was Kouga.

Kouga!

Kouga messaged me!

Wait. How did he find my Facebook? I didn't know he knew my last name.

But that's the least of my concerns right now.

WHY IS HE MESSAGING ME ON FACEBOOK?!

Ok. Breathe Kagome. This probably isn't nearly as big of a deal as you're making it.

I opened the message to see that all he said was "Hey avoiding me now?"

I was a little confused at first but then I saw the time he sent it and it was right after Naraku left today. That was quite a few hours ago. He probably definitely thinks I'm avoiding him. Oops.

Should I reply though? Well I guess I have to now since I opened it and there's a read receipt attached in Facebook messenger. Damn it all…

I replied saying that I was a little too distracted by the Charger and that I had to go in right away to deal with Naraku. That's a pretty legit response, right? Kouga does know how much I love Mopars anyways.

I went home, took a shower. I checked my phone after and no response from him. I didn't get a response from him all night. Weird. Hope I didn't piss him off with my lengthy reply.

-X-

The next morning I woke up to find a message on my phone. It was Kouga!

He said he was just joking but wasn't too sure anymore because of my lengthy reply, in a jokingly manner.

I almost didn't answer him as I knew what he was probably going to try things that were not okay but I decided to see what would happen. What's the worst that could happen, right? If he started hitting on my I would decline and tell him not to message me anymore because I am not the type of girl to sleep with other girls boyfriends. I'm just so not interested in that kind of drama.

I went to work and went about my day. When I arrived to work, Kagura was already there getting started on some emails. I was going to tell her that Kouga had started to message me but I decided against it. Kagura has enough drama on her plate right now. She needs to concentrate on her situation with Hiten, not her situation with Kouga.

Lunch time came around and Kagura and I decided to have lunch together. We went outside to the little picnic table to eat since it was a beautiful day out today. We're stuck in the office all day so we like to spend as much time outside as we can on nice days like today.

Since Hiten has been suspicious of Kagura cheating on him, she told me that he's been checking her phone constantly for messages from other guys. She can't even keep a password on her phone anymore. And yet he keeps a password on his and says that she has no reason not to trust him.

That makes me sad for her.

Kagura has also said that Kouga very rarely talks to her anymore. Lately he will just text her to hook up and when she says no the conversation ends. At work he will say Hi in passing but it stays at that. She said she feels bad because she knows it's because she keeps turning him down for sex but I keep reminding her that he is only using her. He has a girlfriend and only cares about getting laid. Because he isn't getting what he wants from her she is no longer valuable to him and that is just not the kind of guy you want to get involve with, let alone the fact that he is in a relationship.

Kouga and I kept messaging each other throughout the day and the conversation remained very normal. There was nothing sexual about it at all. I guess that's okay, right? I find it kind of odd though that now he is no longer speaking with Kagura that he's messaging me. He is keeping it incredibly clean though and putting a lot of interest in my life. It's kind of like two friends having a conversation. He's displaying no indication of sexual or emotional attraction. None the less, I will keep my guard up.

I'd be lying though if I said he didn't make me feel good though. It is kind of nice to have a guy talking to me like this, especially one that is just so sexy.

…..

Kagome.

Stop.

Stop thinking like this.

I really need to keep my thoughts in check. I can't let him trap me.

When the end of our shift came though, he said he had to go. Guaranteed it's because he's going home and he doesn't want his girlfriend to find out he's talking to me. This is exactly it. This proves exactly what he is up to. He won't have a conversation with me while he's at home because he doesn't want to get caught.

Now I'm mad at myself. Why did I even respond? I shouldn't have opened his message and I should have told him I didn't get it. I'm just so stupid.


End file.
